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Educator perspectives on factors influencing children's school-based physical activity
Matthew S Domville1, Paula M Watson1, Dave J Richardson1
1Physical Activity Exchange, Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, UK.
Health Promotion International
|July 17, 2018
Summary
Barriers at organizational, interpersonal, and intrapersonal levels hinder children's school physical activity (PA). Addressing these requires collaboration between researchers and schools to improve PA intervention design.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Educational Psychology
- Public Health
Background:
- School-based physical activity (PA) interventions are crucial for child health.
- Limited research exists on educators' perceptions of promoting PA in schools.
- Understanding educator perspectives is vital for effective intervention design.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore barriers and facilitators of children's school-based PA from educators' viewpoints.
- To apply a socio-ecological model to understand influences on children's PA.
- To inform the development of future school-based PA interventions.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative study employing semi-structured interviews with school educators (headteachers, PE-co-ordinators, deputy headteacher).
- Socio-ecological approach utilized to analyze data.
- Thematic analysis conducted using NVivo software (version 10).
Main Results:
- Organizational level: Headteachers drive PA promotion, but institutional barriers (low priority for PA/PE) impede delivery.
- Interpersonal level: Poor teacher-coach relationships and external influences limit PA promotion.
- Intrapersonal level: Lack of PE-specific teacher training and varying teacher interest negatively impact PA delivery.
Conclusions:
- Effective interventions must address barriers and facilitators across organizational, interpersonal, and intrapersonal levels.
- Partnerships between researchers and schools are essential for successful PA intervention development.
- Targeting multi-level factors is key to increasing children's school-based PA.